It List: The Best New Hotels 2013

Introducing the coolest new hotels, from a loft in Brooklyn to a sybaritic hideaway in Brazil.

When you check in to Hub Porteño, you unlock more than your stylish, light-filled room: you get access to the best Buenos Aires has to offer thanks to owner Gonzalo Robredo, who can get you into a tango club after hours or arrange a walking tour with a noted architect.

It’s the kind of trip-changing service you can expect from the best hotels. For our eighth annual editors’ choice awards, we logged thousands of miles to find the extraordinary hotels that are transforming their destinations and that promise to improve your next vacation.

The region of Coorg in southwestern India, for instance, is appealing for its mist-shrouded rainforests, coffee plantations, and off-the-grid vibe. The opening of Vivanta by Taj Madikeri gives intrepid travelers added incentive to visit. Its villas and suites are modeled after traditional homes, with vaulted ceilings, doors made from coconut shells, and windows that let the sun seep over the horizon at dawn.

Many of our favorite new hotels, like Vivanta, showcase what’s distinctive and authentic about their location. In Sicily, Monaci delle Terre Nere’s walls are cut from local volcanic rock and the mini-bars are stocked with regional wines and beers; Sugar Beach resort employed a Rastafarian craftsman to use 900-year-old Carib Indian techniques to create a tree-house spa for the St. Lucia property.

But you don’t have to pack your passport to experience the best of what the hotel industry has to offer. Our research was a reminder that there is always something new to discover in the U.S., from the affordable 21c Museum Hotel, which is reinforcing Bentonville, AR, as a weekend getaway destination for art lovers, to the Wythe, where you can experience firsthand what all the Brooklyn buzz is about. And if you think you know Aspen’s iconic 125-year-old Hotel Jerome, think again—it’s got a fresh look, thanks to a multimillion-dollar renovation.

Read on for all of 2013’s most groundbreaking hotels.

Hotel Pricing Key$Less than $200$$$200 to $350$$$$350 to $500$$$$$500 to $1,000$$$$$More than $1,000